Page 122 of Vipers and Vendettas

‘Tamadrielle.’

He looks up. ‘Careful, insolent girl. Even my patience has its limits. I wouldn’t want to have to remindyouof your place as well so early on.’

‘I thought you should know,my lord. The meddling of your ‘scientists’,’ I say, putting the word scientists in air quotes, ‘delayed my demon side from appearing. By years, I was told. If they hadn’t put all those marks on me, soaked me in all that magick, I would have been a full succubus by the time you needed one.’

His expression makes me smile as I leave the room, knowing that Grinel and Volrien are about to get what’s coming to them.

ChapterSeventeen

Daemon

Icall my brother on the way back to the house.

‘What is it?’ Alex asks, his tone curt.

‘We need your help,’ I say. ‘A High Fae lord took Jules. We’re going to get her back.’

There’s silence on the other end of the line, and I hear muffled talking and arguing.

‘What doyoucare about some human on-call girl?’ he finally asks. ‘What’s in it for you, Daemon?’

‘I love her,’ I say without hesitation.

I expect him to laugh or mock me. I’m pretty sure he’s going to tell me I deserve this for making him jump through hoops before I’d help the woman he loves all those months ago. But he doesn’t.

‘We’ll be there in a few.’

The call ends, and I’m struck by how much my brother has changed, how much I’ve changed.

I go into the house and straight upstairs to get ready. I go for black and utilitarian clothes, and I grab some guns just in case I can’t demon-up. This is a High Fae stronghold. The fucker probably has conjures all over the fucking place.

On the way down to the library to meet my brother and his clan, I pass Maddox’s room and see him staring at his tattoo in front of the mirror.

I roll my eyes. What is he doing? We don’t have time for him to primp.

‘Come on,’ I say.

His eyes meet mine in the reflection, and he looks stricken.

‘What is it? Alex and his clan will be here soon.’

‘My tattoo,’ he says quietly. ‘It’s Jules.’

‘Yeah.’

He gives me a look, pulls on his shirt, and grabs a dark jacket. He follows me out onto the landing.

‘Does everyone know I got a likeness of the woman who stole my money tattooed on my chest before we knew she was important to us?’ he mutters.

‘Yep,’ I smirk. ‘And that you had that nook created in the library to fuck her in too.’

Maddox grunts, but his cheeks are slightly pink. ‘We have to get her back.’

‘We will, and we’re going to kill that fae asshole while we’re at it.’

In the library, we all wait for my brother. I hear the hound whining outside the door, but no one speaks. I guess the others thought the same thing about conjures stopping us from demoning-up in the fae’s house. We’re all dressed in black and armed to the teeth.

‘Here they are,’ Axel says, sliding a long knife into a sheath strapped to his leg.